How to Build a Successful Cannabis Brand w/ oHHo's James and Nicola Stephenson

“I finish mine and I feel awesome,” says Nicola Stephenson, holding a three-milligram THC gummy in a summer flavor of cantaloupe and wildflower honey. “But I don't feel like, oh my God, I have to call my doctor. I just feel chill. Like relaxed.” That is the experience oHHo is built to deliver: a functional, elevated alternative to alcohol that does not leave you hungover or anxious. James and Nicola Stephenson, the British couple behind the brand, joined Financial Tea with Mrs. Dow Jones to explain how they built a luxury cannabis and CBD wellness company from a kitchen table, why they have raised only about $6 million to reach $15 million in revenue, and what it is like running a business with your spouse after surviving cancer.

The sober-curious wave and the pivot to THC drinks

The Stephensons did not start oHHo as a drink company. In 2021, they launched with CBD tinctures, gummies, and topicals, frustrated by the mediocrity they saw in the category. “A lot of them had like 25 milligrams of CBD in an entire pot, and it's not going to do anything,” James says. The turning point came when a hotel group wanted to put oHHo’s sleep products in guest rooms but found the tincture format too intimidating. So the couple created a chocolate square. That led James, who was “obsessed with drinks generally,” to see beverages as the biggest opportunity.